Google to introduce more ad filters to block content with ‘violence, nudity and political satire’

Google to introduce more ad filters to block content with ‘violence, nudity and political satire’

Google is preparing to release new filters which would give advertisers greater control over the content they appear against.

According to the Times – which ran a front-page exposé earlier this year into how advertisers like M&S were appearing next to extremist content – Google is planning to grade videos and other online content under new parameters which include violence, nudity and political satire.

Offering an example, the Times said it “would hand advertisers the power to block their adverts appearing alongside a bawdy comedy sketch, for example, or risqué music video.”.

The additional safeguards are expected to come into force by the end of the year.

YouTube claimed that during the past month of testing AI-powered detection and removal tools that over 75% of the videos it has removed for violent extremism were purged before receiving a single human flag. The platform has said it believes the accuracy of its systems have improved “dramatically” due to machine learning.

It’s part of an a four-pronged strategy to appease the industry after major advertisers, in wake of the Times investigation, pulled ad spend from YouTube and the Google Display Network.

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